Rory McIlroy‘s golf sports psychologist, Dr. Bob Rotella, admitted that the two had a special routine planned for his approach at ANGC in April 2025. “We didn’t want to pay attention to what anyone else was scoring, or shooting, or swinging, or how far they were hitting it. We just wanted Rory to play his game.” And it worked. After 11 years, the Irishman broke the curse. He won his first Masters Tournament, his first Green Jacket, and a Career Grand Slam. Truly an inspirational moment. And Padraig Harrington did take inspiration from it for his big win in the U.K.
Only a few weeks ago, the fellow Irish veteran golfer had just captured the U.S. Senior Open. Just a few hours ago, he faced the tough challenge of outplaying Justin Leonard and Thomas Bjørn in the 2025 ISPS Handa Senior Open. But Harrington was determined to make it two in a row, and he did just that. Post-victory, he was asked how he tackled the comeback from Bjørn. That’s when the 53-year-old revealed that he had done exactly what McIlroy did at Augusta National back in April 2025.
“I didn’t know he did it. I never look at leaderboards. The only time I saw a leaderboard was on 18. I asked Ronan on 17 what was my lead, and never looked at a leaderboard. Was fully focused on what I was doing.” Harrington didn’t care what everyone else was doing. He was focused on delivering his best performance. The former consecutive Open Championship winner knew how to win on links courses.
Until the 17th hole, he did just that. After he had putted the 18th, Harrington had a 3-stroke lead over the field. He had become the fifth man to win The Open and The Senior Open after Darren Clarke, Tom Watson, Gary Player, and Bob Charles. Following Rory’s approach helped him achieve that goal, and he won back-to-back majors in 2025. Ironically, Rors was also in attendance at Sunningdale Old Course watching Harrington win The Senior Open 2025. When asked if he noticed the 29-time PGA Tour champion on the course, he replied, “I didn’t see him out there.” The two may not have crossed paths on the course, but they might have caught up after Harrington’s win.
Interestingly, this is not Rory McIlroy’s first escapade since the conclusion of The Open 2025. With no golf commitments lined up for a few days, the Irishman has been enjoying himself a little too much.
Rory McIlroy is making the most of his time off from golf
Rory McIlroy is not scheduled to play any events before the FedEx Cup playoffs. That means he has had a few weeks to relax before getting back on the course. While it was great to see him on the field at Sunningdale Old Course to support the Senior Tour players, the Irishman has been doing a lot more than making appearances for the media on other Tours. Only a few days ago, many news outlets released a video showing McIlroy in an interesting situation away from the course.
The 36-year-old was seen partying with his friend, wearing a cap Happy Gilmore style and a glass of white wine in his hand. One of the fans asked him, “Where’s the Green Jacket?” With the loud music buzzing around, a broadly smiling McIlroy screamed in response, “It’s on the yacht!” in his Irish accent. The entire episode caught a lot of attention as fans stated how they loved this side of Rory McIlroy. Looks like the Irishman is getting back in the good books of the community.
